How to Decorate Like a Designer With Your Flea Market Finds
Shanty Chic
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Chase YakaboskiCoffee tables.
There’s no excuse for settling for a boring standard coffee table. The spot in front of the sofa can be an old steamer trunk, an industrial cart, a pile of leather luggage, an antique bench, an ottoman, a duo of fat tree stumps.Chase YakaboskiCoffee tables.
There’s no excuse for settling for a boring standard coffee table. The spot in front of the sofa can be an old steamer trunk, an industrial cart, a pile of leather luggage, an antique bench, an ottoman, a duo of fat tree stumps. -
Chase YakaboskiMixing old and new.
Opposites do attract, say the experts. Yes, a molded mid-century plastic chair can be good company for a curvy French chair. A modern abstract painting can add funky cool to a traditional room. Rustic furniture can co-exist nicely with Scandinavian modern. The trick is to choose pieces of similar size and height, say the pros, and not overdo. Contrasts are a nice surprise as your eye travels around a room, but chaos isn’t pretty. Aim for a nice cadence, with touches of the unexpected.Chase YakaboskiMixing old and new.
Opposites do attract, say the experts. Yes, a molded mid-century plastic chair can be good company for a curvy French chair. A modern abstract painting can add funky cool to a traditional room. Rustic furniture can co-exist nicely with Scandinavian modern. The trick is to choose pieces of similar size and height, say the pros, and not overdo. Contrasts are a nice surprise as your eye travels around a room, but chaos isn’t pretty. Aim for a nice cadence, with touches of the unexpected. -
Chase YakaboskiOld dressers.
Snap them up for wherever you need storage. Chances are that they are a lot better constructed than new ones. Paint or refinish them. You probably paid so little for them that you won’t feel guilty doing a wild paint job. Polka dots, anyone? Your little princess will love it. And dressers aren’t just for bedroom storage. There’s no reason they shouldn’t move into the family room, holding DVDs, games or toys. Or find two narrow ones of the same height, top with a flat door or recycled planks and you’ve got a desk. Or add a vessel sink to create a chic bathroom fixture.Chase YakaboskiOld dressers.
Snap them up for wherever you need storage. Chances are that they are a lot better constructed than new ones. Paint or refinish them. You probably paid so little for them that you won’t feel guilty doing a wild paint job. Polka dots, anyone? Your little princess will love it. And dressers aren’t just for bedroom storage. There’s no reason they shouldn’t move into the family room, holding DVDs, games or toys. Or find two narrow ones of the same height, top with a flat door or recycled planks and you’ve got a desk. Or add a vessel sink to create a chic bathroom fixture. -
Jennifer G. PhotographyUse color to unify a room of mixed styles.
Repeat a contrasting or complementary color throughout the room, in pillows, a rug, lamps and some artwork.Jennifer G. PhotographyUse color to unify a room of mixed styles.
Repeat a contrasting or complementary color throughout the room, in pillows, a rug, lamps and some artwork. -
Jennifer G. PhotographyGrab it if you spot an extraordinary treasure.
“Don’t wait,” says Lydia Smith. “It might well be gone if you leave for a bit to think about it. My most recent flea market find was a French-styled day bed of carved wood. It was authentic, vintage rustic and beautiful, so I snapped it up. It is headed for my porch.”Jennifer G. PhotographyGrab it if you spot an extraordinary treasure.
“Don’t wait,” says Lydia Smith. “It might well be gone if you leave for a bit to think about it. My most recent flea market find was a French-styled day bed of carved wood. It was authentic, vintage rustic and beautiful, so I snapped it up. It is headed for my porch.” -
Chase YakaboskiSlipcovers save the day.
Living rooms call for lots of comfortable seating. You spy a flea market sofa that exudes comfort, ditto a love seat, but they aren’t a matched set? Not to worry. Slipcovers will unite them. Designers love to cover non-matching seating in hefty white canvas because it adds structure and shows off colorful pillows, quilts and throws.Chase YakaboskiSlipcovers save the day.
Living rooms call for lots of comfortable seating. You spy a flea market sofa that exudes comfort, ditto a love seat, but they aren’t a matched set? Not to worry. Slipcovers will unite them. Designers love to cover non-matching seating in hefty white canvas because it adds structure and shows off colorful pillows, quilts and throws. -
Jennifer G. PhotographyHarness collections.
Don’t spread a collection all over the house. Clutter is never pretty. Instead put it all in once place. In a hutch, perhaps, or on open shelves, and display space should complement the collection. Glassware, for example, is a weakness of T & W Flea Market’s Amanda Patterson, and that takes on special glitter when displayed in direct sunlight. It’s a good idea to store away part of a collection, rotating the display several times a year. That way it won’t become a stagnant part of the background.Jennifer G. PhotographyHarness collections.
Don’t spread a collection all over the house. Clutter is never pretty. Instead put it all in once place. In a hutch, perhaps, or on open shelves, and display space should complement the collection. Glassware, for example, is a weakness of T & W Flea Market’s Amanda Patterson, and that takes on special glitter when displayed in direct sunlight. It’s a good idea to store away part of a collection, rotating the display several times a year. That way it won’t become a stagnant part of the background. -
Jennifer G. PhotographyUseful collectibles.
There are certain items that seasoned thrift shoppers never fail to check out. Baskets, for sure, all sizes and shapes, to hold everything from apples to knitting yarn. Picture frames. Odd pottery, ironstone and glass pitchers so pretty they show up all around the house, serving sangria or showing off flowers. Stools that can be seating, little tables, display venues.Jennifer G. PhotographyUseful collectibles.
There are certain items that seasoned thrift shoppers never fail to check out. Baskets, for sure, all sizes and shapes, to hold everything from apples to knitting yarn. Picture frames. Odd pottery, ironstone and glass pitchers so pretty they show up all around the house, serving sangria or showing off flowers. Stools that can be seating, little tables, display venues. -
Chase YakaboskiLook Again.
Forget what things are supposed to be, says Susan Henry of Ava’s Attic in Miramar Beach. Look out for castoffs that can be given new life in an entirely different way. A good example is the china cabinet, part of yesteryear’s dining room set. Flea markets are full of them. Remove the glass-fronted top, and you’ve got a sofa table or TV console. Now put legs on the upper part and it becomes a storage cabinet for the kitchen. Or move the whole china cabinet into the bathroom, suggests Lydia Smith of Brocante in Miramar Beach. It’ll work beautifully for family toiletries.Chase YakaboskiLook Again.
Forget what things are supposed to be, says Susan Henry of Ava’s Attic in Miramar Beach. Look out for castoffs that can be given new life in an entirely different way. A good example is the china cabinet, part of yesteryear’s dining room set. Flea markets are full of them. Remove the glass-fronted top, and you’ve got a sofa table or TV console. Now put legs on the upper part and it becomes a storage cabinet for the kitchen. Or move the whole china cabinet into the bathroom, suggests Lydia Smith of Brocante in Miramar Beach. It’ll work beautifully for family toiletries. -
Chase YakaboskiImproving the classics.
In love with an old bed with fanciful carvings? This happens often at T & W Flea Market’s hundreds of shops and stalls in Pensacola, says co-owner Bryant Fields. The problem is that those beautiful old beds are full-sized, but they can indeed be converted to queen size. “Always think of ways to update the classics,” he says. “Upholster a traditional British settee in lime green, paint a French bergere chair canary yellow or robin egg’s blue.”Chase YakaboskiImproving the classics.
In love with an old bed with fanciful carvings? This happens often at T & W Flea Market’s hundreds of shops and stalls in Pensacola, says co-owner Bryant Fields. The problem is that those beautiful old beds are full-sized, but they can indeed be converted to queen size. “Always think of ways to update the classics,” he says. “Upholster a traditional British settee in lime green, paint a French bergere chair canary yellow or robin egg’s blue.” -
Jennifer G. PhotographyHappy holidays.
Haunt the flea markets at Christmas time. Here, you’ll find inspired ornaments, handmade wreaths and one-of-a-kind gifts, both antique and newly crafted by local artisans. “Think of it as a treasure hunt,” says Amanda Patterson. “Consider fishing gear, kitchen collectibles, art, clever signs, metal letters from an old movie marquee, coins, compasses, vintage embroidered tablecloths. So many possibilities and great fun.Jennifer G. PhotographyHappy holidays.
Haunt the flea markets at Christmas time. Here, you’ll find inspired ornaments, handmade wreaths and one-of-a-kind gifts, both antique and newly crafted by local artisans. “Think of it as a treasure hunt,” says Amanda Patterson. “Consider fishing gear, kitchen collectibles, art, clever signs, metal letters from an old movie marquee, coins, compasses, vintage embroidered tablecloths. So many possibilities and great fun.
We all love a bargain, but flea marketers contend that it isn’t just thrift that compels us to pore through phantasmagorias of clam cages, orphan dishes, vintage Christmas ornaments and cast-off furniture.
“America has come to love re-using and re-inventing cast-offs,” explains Stacie Hoard of De ’France, a Fort Walton Beach indoor flea market specializing in home furnishings. “It has made flea market decorating a very hot trend. And the appeal is clear. What else but one-of-a-kind treasures can create such uniquely personal rooms?”
Obviously, designers and editors agree with Hoard. These days, you find charming thrift-decorated homes and furnishings featured by glossy home magazines, on HGTV and even in upscale catalogs.
The rooms look so effortless. But are they really that easy to create? Is it actually OK to marry rustic country styles and sleek mid-century furnishings? Can that antique child’s cart turned coffee table live happily with a Queen Anne sofa? What to do about the bird house collection that’s growing out of bounds?
Well, yesteryear’s matchy-matchy rooms, bought as sets, were unquestionably easier to deal with (albeit boring), but Stacie Hoard and other design-savvy flea marketers insist that you, too, can create wonderful interiors that fuse disparate elements. To help you on the journey, they have come up with some tried and true guidelines.
Categories: Decorating
